This invention relates to lightweight, durable carrier bags for attachment to bicycles.
Prior to the last two or three years, the most common way for carrying objects on a bicycle has been to place them in some form of basket mounted on the bicycle, the basket usually being an open, "basket-weave" metal gridwork of metal or a plastic or fibrous material. The use of metal, plastic or fiber baskets provided little protection for the objects from the environment, particularly bad weather, so it was often necessary carefully to wrap any objects to be carried in the open types of carrier to ensure that they would not become soiled or wet.
Within the last few years, lightweight bicycle bags have virtually replaced the open wire, plastic or fibrous carriers. Some of the most successful of the lightweight bags have been based on the invention described and shown in U.S. appln. Ser. No. 380,458, filed July 18, 1973, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,903,944, which is owned by the assignee of this invention. That invention relates to a utility bag comprising an outer enclosure of a lightweight, durable fabric and a stiffener within the outer enclosure that imparts shape, strength and durability to the bag in the form of a continuous strip of initially substantially flat, semiflexible, substantially resilient and compressible polymeric foam material. Reference is also made to applicant's copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 546,017 and 546,140 filed Jan. 31, 1975.
When the utility bag is not used to carry rather heavy loads, the foam liner has served well to support, distribute and protect the load in the bag. However, under heavy loading, such as, for example, the loading often involved when the carrier bags are used for bicycle touring, the bag tends to become misshapen and, in severe cases, can interfere with proper operation of the bicycle. For example, a rear carrier bag, if heavily loaded and not carefully loaded, can become misshapen to the extent of coming into contact with the spokes of the rear wheel. Similarly, a handlebar bag can, under adverse load conditions, sag badly enough to interfere with the front wheel.